Page 186 of Yearn

And now here I was—a man she'd known for a year—asking her to trust me with something that could cost me my life.

Our eyes met, and I watched something shift in her expression.

Not just fear anymore.

Not just lust or gratitude for the pleasure I'd given her.

Something deeper.

More solid.

She was making a choice.

To see me not as the young tenant downstairs.

Not as the medical student renting her basement.

Not as the man who'd just fucked her while her ex-husband watched.

But as someone who could stand between her and chaos.

Someone whowouldstand there, even if it cost him everything.

"Dominic." My name came out steady now. "Don't you dare die on me. You hear me? Don't you fucking dare."

My heart ached. "I won't."

She studied my face for three more seconds—probably looking for doubt, for fear, for any sign I was lying the way Scott always had.

She didn't find it.

"Okay." She nodded. "I. . .trust you."

Three words that meant everything.

She turned and ran up the stairs, and I heard it in her footsteps—not retreat, but tactical repositioning.

She wasn't running away from the fight.

She was doing her part in it.

Calling the police.

Protecting the boys.

Letting me handle Scott.

That was partnership.

That was what Scott had never understood—trust wasn't blind obedience. It was two people choosing to rely on each other's strengths instead of exploiting each other's weaknesses.

I pulled out my phone, already feeling steadier.

She trusts me.

I wouldn't let her down.

I tapped on my lawyer Spencer's number as I moved toward the office.